The recipients are American scientist Karl Deisseroth and German scientists Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel.
According to the Nobel Committee, the scientists made pioneering discoveries involving optogenetics and light-sensitive proteins, providing new insights into how nerve cells can be controlled and studied using light.
Their work contributed to the development of techniques that have enabled researchers to investigate how the brain processes and regulates memories, emotions and behaviour.
Hegemann and Nagel discovered the light-sensitive protein channelrhodopsin, while Deisseroth helped transform such proteins into a light-controlled switch for manipulating nerve cells.
The prize money of 12 million Swedish kronor will be shared equally among the three scientists.
The announcement marks the first Nobel Prize awarded in the 2026 Nobel season. Further prizes will be announced in physics, chemistry and literature, followed by the Nobel Peace Prize and the prize in economic sciences.
The Nobel Committee previously awarded the Medicine Nobel Prize to three scientists for discoveries related to the functioning of the immune system.